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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Looking for Signs from God

Are you always on the lookout for messages from God? Hints as to what you should or shouldn’t be doing, paths you should blaze or avoid. Some sort of nod that you’re going in the right direction and doing what you’re supposed to be.

Well in this post, we’ll take a look at what that might look like in someone’s writing life. (Not mine, because I want to get a broader picture and my road to publication may not encompass that. And besides, I’m a fiction writer-making stuff up is what I do.) Anyway, my hope is that wherever you are in your writing journey you’ll find encouragement from this post.

So now, let’s imagine a writer pounding away on their keyboard, finishing manuscript after manuscript, forgoing other fun activities, because the need to write is just so strong. However, year after year, this writer faces rejection. God should I keep writing? The writer questions giving up, maybe even tries to step away for a while, but then some great feedback from an unpublished contest comes in or a critique partner gushes over their work. And the writer is inspired anew to keep writing.

And so they do. But nothing else changes. That’s it, they’re going to give up. They feel they’re wasting their time, missing out on other aspects of life. And just then, they get “the call”.

You can imagine the celebration that would ensue. They finally did it. They’re getting published.

But that’s not the end. There are more manuscripts to write, more rejections to face, more hours spent hammering away on those keys. And the writer is faced with the same nagging question again, should they keep writing? Maybe that book was a fluke. Maybe they were only supposed to write one book.

But then the phone rings, someone wants to publish their next book, or they’ve won a contest, or a fan letter comes in. And the writer starts to believe that yes they should keep writing.

And clear as day, the idea pops into their head: Maybe getting published isn’t the point. They’ve met a lot of great people, made so many new friends, and helped others along the way. Their confidence rises as they realize they’re writing for a reason. Writing is what they like to do. It is their God-given talent.

And finally the writer gets mad. Who keeps putting all these doubts in their mind, anyway? They have to stop.

And so the writer takes out a pen and writes a quote from the KJV of the bible: “Proverbs: 3.5-3.6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

The writer relaxes. Thanks be to God. They are exactly where God wants them to be. And they know that because they are doing what they love to do-write. And why would God give them this love of writing if they weren’t supposed to do it?

Happy writing everyone!

Eva Maria Hamilton is the author of Highland Hearts, a Love Inspired Historical novel published by Harlequin. Her novel, Highland Hearts, won 2nd Place in the Historical Romance, as well as the Traditional/Inspirational Romance Categories in the Heart of Excellence Reader’s Choice Awards, and was an Inspirational Series Finalist in the 2013 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.

Highland Hearts

Scotland 1748The Battle of Culloden is over, but one Highlander’s fight has just begun…
Logan McAllister survived years of indentured servitude in the Americas to reach this moment. Now he’s returned to Scotland, ready to redeem the secret promise from Sheena Montgomery’s father – that his years as an indentured servant would earn him Sheena’s hand in marriage. But when he arrives home, he learns that Sheena’s father has died, his contract has been lost… and Sheena is engaged to another man.